The Unexpected
by lieutenant-taijiya
Summary: Isane learns something unexpected about her gentle captain and her most frequent patient. Ukitake/Unohana. Told from Isane's point of view. Please read and review. Chapter 2 added.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Note: So, here's the deal. I had been trying to write an Ukitake/Unohana fic for a while when I got the Idea for my Shunsui/ Nanao fic, The Secret Language of Flowers. So I went with it. However, I sat down to write chapter three and it just wouldn't come. The idea for this fic wouldn't leave me alone. So I decided to write it. My muses are so fickle sometimes. I apologize if any characters appear to be ocd…. Sorry ooc. It was not my intention. I just think this pairing is the cutest. I'm more of a reader than a writer, but this fandom is seriously lacking support. Just trying to do my part. I hope you enjoy. _

_Disclaimer: I do not own Bleach or it's wonderful cast of characters. I just torment them a little._

The Unexpected

Isane couldn't help but be a little confused. Her Captain had left her in charge of the squad while they were all amidst a battle. Aizen had sent a group of seven Arrancar lead by three Espada to the Soul Society to distract them as he tried to destroy all of the souls in Karakura town.

This in an of itself wasn't what surprised her. I wasn't good, but they had already taken measures with Karakura town. They hadn't expected this large of a group to attack the Soul Society, but they had at least finally managed to evacuate all of districts fifty-seven through sixty-one of the Rukongai before their was too much damage.

Their side appeared to be doing o.k. Half their Captains and Vice-Captains were in Karakura town waiting for that battle to commence. Squad Four itself had only sent half of it's forces. Headed up by Third Seat Officer Iemura and Seventh Seat Officer Yamada. This battle, having not been anticipated was being fought by the remaining Captains, Vice-Captains and other Shinigami.

Captain Komamura was fighting a female Arrancar with bright purple hair just a few shades darker than Isane's own locks. Captain Soi Fon was engaged with a very bulbous Arrancar which, Isane couldn't help but notice, rather resembled her Vice-Captain. Captain Kyouraku was fighting one of the leading Espada, his captain's coat clearly visible since his pink hoari had blown off his shoulders. Fighting at his back was Captain Ukitake.

This had been what had surprised her, ever since Captain Ukitake had joined the fight, almost an hour ago, her captain's eyes had never left him. As soon as his double blades had manifested Captain Unohana had promptly informed her that until further notice she was in command of the remaining Squad Four members. Her Captain's attention had been drawn completely by Captain Ukitake's battle. This had never happened before. Even when the Ryoka entered Soul Society or when Aizen's betrayal was discovered.

Isane continued to direct their squad, but it appeared that they were doing little more than waiting. The first shinigami on the scene had been lower level and had only been here because of their patrol. They had already been transported to the Squad Four Infirmary with her fifth seat. Once the Captain's and Vice-Captains had taken over their hadn't been any battle ending injuries or fatalities thankfully.

So there she stood at her Captain's side with a watchful eye on all the battles. All of a sudden she saw Captain Ukitake go down. The Espada had just dealt him a blow to his stomach. He started coughing violently. It took him a couple of precious seconds to return to the battle. Captain Ukitake didn't have the stamina for long battles and this one had lasted for a while now. It was taking a lot out of him.

At that point Isane noticed that her Captain was shaking. Thinking that it was in fear for her frequent patient, Isane looked up to offer some comforting words. But when she looked up into her Captain's eyes, she saw that it wasn't fear that caused her trembling, but anger. Captain Unohana's usually calm and collected demeanor had cracked. Isane had been with her captain for almost a hundred years and could honestly say that she had never seen her show anger, or feel the furious reiatsu that was coming from her.

Isane looked back at the battles being fought, and saw that despite the injury or because of it all of her allies were once again holding her own. Captain Soi Fon had deep lacerations on her arms and face. Captain Komamura also had some injuries as well as most of the Vice-Captains, but it appeared that none of them were life threatening. However Isane didn't have much time to do anything, but glance around when Captain Unohana got her attention.

"Isane, I am going to give you an order and you are to follow it completely. Do not deviate, even if another Captain gives you a contradictory order."

Not sure just what her Captain would ask of her, but willing to follow on blind faith. Isane didn't hesitate to give Captain Unohana her nod of confirmation.

Once Captain Unohana saw that Isane would do as she demanded, she continued, "I am going to intervene in this battle."

"I am going to arrest the Arrancar's motor skills rendering them paralyzed, but due to the amount of enemies it will render me unconscious. I need you to assume complete command of Squad Four. You will be responsible for all of the injuries here and all the ones coming in from Karakura Town. It should only be for twelve hours. Until then I will leave it in your hands."

As Unohana finished her explanation, Isane could feel her face pale. Her Captain had never left her in this position before. When Isane nodded Captain Unohana moved away from her. This confused her until she felt an immense reiatsu emanating from her Captain.

She could just see Unohana's eyes glowing a fierce golden color when all of a sudden every enemy on the battlefield stopped suddenly in the middle of fighting. She was sure her allies were wondering what had caused this, but they took full advantage of the situation to eliminate the threat. As the last of the Arrancar and Espada fell for the final time, she watched as her Captain also fell to the ground unconscious. Isane couldn't help but light up with pride for her Captain.

Isane ran to her Captain to make sure that she was o.k. Seeing that her vitals were all good but her reiatsu was depleted, she made her a bit more comfortable, and called over the forth seat to take care of their Captain. The Vice-Captain also wanted to make sure that she was moved to her quarters for rest.

Captain Ukitake was making his way over to them heavily supported by Captain Kyouraku. Isane was very familiar with these Captains, due to Ukitake's frequent visits to the infirmary and his close friend's constant visits to him. When they made it to her Ukitake asked, "What happened. Is she o.k."

Not sure how much of the situation her Captain would want her to divulge she replied, "Captain Unohana was unsatisfied with the progress of the battle. She didn't want anyone else to be injured, so she did a very advanced reverse healing kido and paralyzed the enemy. It took most of her reiatsu so she was rendered unconscious and has to rest. She said it would take twelve hours and gave me command of the Squad."

As she continued her retelling of events, she saw the white haired captain's face pale to the color of his snowy hair. She also saw that he began to lean more on his friend.

"Why did she think that it was necessary. She could have seriously injured herself or worse. What if it hadn't been enough and we had lost? She would have been helpless."

At this point he began to cough violently, and Isane decided that he needed immediate medical attention. "Sir. We need to get you to Squad Four immediately. We have to get your injuries treated before they have an adverse effect on your condition."

His vehement reply came as a shock to her, "Absolutely not. Captain Unohana needs to be transported and taken care of first."

"Sir. I must protest. Captain Unohana will be transported by our fourth seat when all triage is completed as is procedure. She just needs some rest." At these words she felt a flare of reiatsu come from him. It told her that he didn't care very much for their procedures at the moment. Isane also now felt first hand the power that this man held. To be honest it did give her pause, but her Captain wouldn't want her to stand around arguing when he needed medial attention.

"I will not go first. She will be transported and comfortable before I will go anywhere. That is an order."

Years of following her superior's orders caused her to hesitate. After all she knew that she couldn't overpower him even in the state he was in now. But Captain Unohana left the command of their division in her care and she respected and cared a great deal for her compassionate captain.

"Sir. I am sorry, but I can not follow that order. Captain Unohana left me with strict orders to complete the mission she gave me and not to deviate from it even if I am given orders by another captain," this made her wonder just how well her captain knew this usually gentle man.

Isane knew that she was going to need some help getting him there and looked into the eyes of his longtime friend Captain Kyouraku. She sent him a silent plea for help as Captain Ukitake burst into another coughing fit. The arguing was aggravating his condition. When the unusually silent captain gave her a swift nod, she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. She had his support and he was going to help her get Captain Ukitake back to Squad Four.

"Now, Now, Juu-chan. We don't want to get Isane-chan into trouble. I'll take you now, and once she has you taken care of I will go check on Retsu-chan, "Kyouraku said while trying to placate everyone involved.

Captain Ukitake realized that he was not going to win this particular battle and unhappily agreed, "Oh, alright. But you will go check immediately and if she is not there yet you will bring her." As he said this he couldn't help seeing the blatant grin that flashed across his friend's face. He had been trying to keep his feelings for the healer concealed for almost as long as she had been a captain, but he was sure, considering the look on his friends face, that he had not succeeded very well today.

Isane issued her orders to the remaining members of her squad and headed back to the Squad Four infirmary. When she reached it, she went directly to Captain Ukitake's room. Before she could open the door she thought she heard Captain Kyouraku advise Captain Ukitake that he should just tell her Captain how he felt about her. Isane thought this odd, but didn't hesitate longer. She entered the room, promptly told the Squad Eight Captain that he could wait in the lobby, and proceeded to use a healing kido on his wounds.

When she was finished she made the rounds of all the other patients, to assess their injuries and provide advice on their care. After she was finished she went and got a drink of water and take a much needed ten minute rest. It had been a long day. Luckily their had been no fatalities, but she couldn't celebrate yet. They hadn't heard from Karakura Town and she had to get ready for the first transport of those that were injured in that battle.

But as she sat she couldn't help think over the odd things that had happened today. Not the battle itself, but the way Captain Unohana and Captain Ukitake had been acting. They hadn't been themselves at all. Granted their had been a horrendous battle, but that had never caused her Captain to loose her calm and gentle demeanor and emanate the absolute fury she had when the Squad Thirteen Captain was wounded.

Then their was Captain Ukitake himself. Isane had never seen him refuse treatment before. Not to mention the fact that she had never heard of him issuing such a blatant order to anyone before, especially not to her. He usually just asked in a polite way. He had only been thinking of the health of her Captain.

They were acting as if the loved each other. Isane's eye's got wide at that realization. Could they really? After hearing Captain Kyouraku's advice, she couldn't help but think that they absolutely could love each other.

Her musings were interrupted, however, when her captain knocked on the door and proceeded to enter. Captain Unohana was still looking a bit worn out. She had only slept for nine hours instead of the anticipated twelve.

"How is Captain Ukitake doing?"

With her conclusions freshly in her mind Isane couldn't help the slight blush that rose in her cheeks when she replied, "He is doing well. The stomach wound was not as deep as I had anticipated and his breathing has returned to normal."

Nodding her Captain responded, "I will go check on him," and as if it was an afterthought she continued, "and the others."

Realizing that her Captain would probably be a while as she liked to oversee the white haired captain's treatment herself, she decided that her break had been long enough and she needed to go check on the members of Squad Four and see how they were holding up. They probably hadn't had a break either.

As she walked down the hallway to the west wing of the infirmary she couldn't help but look through the small opening into Captain Ukitake's room. What she saw made her blush the color of his friend's beautiful pink hoari. Her Captain was kissing Captain Ukitake. Not a peck on the cheek either. It was a all out, no holds barred, time stood still, passionate kiss.

She hadn't realized that she had stopped walking in her astonishment until she felt someone else stop beside her. Understanding that she had been caught peeking, she looked up to see who it was. She stared into a face lit up with the biggest smile she had ever seen. And considering it was Captain Kyouraku that was saying something. He reached in front of her and closed the door effectively blocking their view of the enamored Captains.

She didn't know what to do or think when he just said, "Well. It's about damn time," and walked off with that goofy grin still firmly in place.

_Author's Note: Well there it is. I hope you enjoyed it. I haven't decided if I want to add another chapter in Ukitake and Unohana's point of view or not. If you have an opinion about this please let me know, but for now it will be listed as complete. Feedback is appreciated. Please read and review. See you all next time._


	2. Chapter 2

Author's Note: Hello all. I'm happy to tell you that I finally managed to get to chapter two. When I originally posted chapter one I wasn't sure if I wanted to do another chapter or not, but due to the overwhelming response there is no way I couldn't. Due to circumstances beyond my control, I am just now getting to do it. I hope you enjoy.

Thanks to the following people for reviewing Chapter 1:

Wintervines, DangoCandii, Dreaming Anime, minaghostwolf, Mistress of Earth, shohannah, Darkchoccol8807, ToastweasleofDOOM, Cal reflector, Mysticwolf, anna, Esme, Elena, Hitsu-taichou, bandgeek9. You guys make my day.

Disclaimer: I don't own bleach or any of it's wonderful characters, but I do occasionally like to torment them.

* * *

The Unexpected

Chapter 2:

Captain Unohana sat at her desk in the Captain's office of Squad Four. She was drinking a cup of tea and contemplating the day that had almost destroyed her world. It had started out the same as any ordinary day. She had come into the office at seven forty-five, reviewed the nightshift's reports and made sure that everyone had been relieved by eight thirty. At that point her day had been running smoothly. At nine o'clock, however, everything changed. She received an urgent summons from Head Captain Ukitake that Aizen was suspected to begin his attack on Karakua Town later in the day.

This news shook her composure and she had to take a few minutes to regain her tight grasp on her fear and contemplate what would be the best course of action for Squad Four. She was immensely grateful that Ukitake himself wouldn't be going into the living world. He had wanted to go and fight there himself, but thankfully they had been able to talk him out of it. Thanks largely to Captain Kyouraku's argument that he was the Head Captain and needed to stay in Soul Society so that he could effectively lead everyone stationed in the living world from one central location.

Unohana knew that he was capable and strong. She had seen him at The Shinigami Academy and later on in battle. His power and Zanpakuto were legendary. However she just couldn't stop herself from being fearful every time he had to fight. He had been her patient for more years than she cared to count, because of his horrible illness and she didn't want him to be in more pain than he already was.

Several decades ago she had came to terms with the fact that she had strong feelings for him. Not just as a patient or fellow Captain, but as a man that she had come to love. That day had also started out as an ordinary day.

He was a quiet and gentle man, caring and compassionate to all around him. Juushirou Ukitake was always happy to help no matter the problem. He rarely gave orders when he could politely ask. Not to mention that most everyone he meets considers him a friend.

Unohana came to love him. She oversaw all of his treatments. She occasionally shared tea with him. She always gave him a new handkerchief on his birthday, and a bottle of Sake on the anniversary of him becoming a Captain. But she never mentioned her feelings, or indicated them in any way. He had never indicated that he had similar feelings, and she didn't want to ruin the friendship or patient healer relationship they had.

That's why at twelve forty-two her careful restraint started to slip beyond her control. She received the communication that Aizen had begun his attack, but it was not on Karakura Town. It was on Soul Society itself.

She was immensely grateful of her many years of experience that had taught her to always keep some of her squad in reserve. She had only sent half of Squad Four to the living world, and at that point she had had no choice but to send the remainder of her squad to the Rukongai. Isane-san and herself were the first of their squad on the seen. As soon as they arrived she felt the usual fear for her squad. Most of Squad Four was not able to fight, but only to heal. This had always caused her to fear for them.

Many thought that she did not see death the same as most Shinigami. This was not true. She had just seen so much death in her time as a healer that she had locked her fear away and refused to let anyone see it.

At twelve forty-four she stood and watched as she saw a sight many shinigami had never seen. She herself had only seen it three times before. Captain Kyouraku and Head Captain Ukitake arrived simultaneously and unleashed their Zanpakuto in a dance she knew they had practiced many times in the past.

They engaged the leading Espada and fought back to back as she knew they would. All Shinigami, Vice-Captain's, and Captains remaining in Soul Society were engaged with their enemies. Some were engaged directly and some were trying to evacuate the closest districts as quickly as possible.

Captain Unohana gave orders and directed her squad to help everyone they could, shinigami and souls alike, but as the battles got more heated she found gaze traveling back to Ukitake more often than not.

She watched as the snowy-haired captain narrowly escaped a devastating blow issued by his opponent. At that point she made a decision.

Glancing to her right she saw that Isane was with her, awaiting her next order. Hoping that she wouldn't regret what she was about to do, she turned to her Vice-Captain and issued an order she was sure Isane had never expected, "Isane-san, until further notice you are fully in charge of the squad. I expect you to follow protocol."

I saw the curiosity in her eyes as she nodded her understanding. Now that I knew she was watching everything else, I could extend my full attention to the man that held my heart.

At one thirty-five I saw Ukitake's breath becoming even more labored. None of the battles were progressing quickly and he wouldn't be able to fight at this level for much longer. She knew that he was at his best in a short battle, but it appeared that this one was not meant to end swiftly. Her worry growing she watched as the Espada's blade made contact with Ukitake's stomach and he fell. She could see he wasn't down for good, but it took him precious seconds to regain his footing. Had it not been for Captain Kyouraku's timely attack on Ukitake's opponent, he might never have been able to stand up again.

It was to close. If anything happened to Ukitake today, Unohana suddenly realized, he would never know how she felt about him. He might not feel the same way, but he deserved to know the truth of her feelings. Suddenly she felt a fear unlike any she had felt before. She had to tell him. She couldn't let their relationship continue as it was. To do so would be unfair to both of them. It was as if it was a complete lie. And their was no way she was going to let him get hurt any more. He was her heart. The air she breathed. Without him her existence would be nothing.

Then as soon as it had come the fear vanished, and was replaced with an anger that was so powerful it made her entire body shake. She couldn't control it, and it was even causing some of her reiatsu to leak out. She would not let him come to even more harm. She wouldn't let any of her fellow shinigami come to more harm. Part of this was her fault. If she had discovered Aizen's deception just a little sooner she might have been able to prevent this altogether.

In the back of her mind an idea formed. She ushered it to the forefront of her mind and let it take root. She could do something. She had the ultimate weapon to turn all the major battles around. She was a healer after all and she had power over the body and it's energy.

She hadn't tried it since she graduated The Academy, but surely it would work. It had to. She would fight in this battle to, in her own way.

Having made up her mind, the compassionate healer got the attention of her Vice-Captain and issued another order, "Isane, I am going to give you an order and you are to follow it completely. Do not deviate, even if another Captain gives you a contradictory order," after all she still had to make sure that the protocol of Squad Four was executed perfectly.

Once Captain Unohana saw that Isane would do as she demanded, she continued, "I am going to intervene in this battle."

"I am going to arrest the Arrancar's motor skills rendering them paralyzed, but due to the amount of enemies it will render me unconscious. I need you to assume complete command of Squad Four. You will be responsible for all of the injuries here and all the ones coming in from Karakura Town. It should only be for twelve hours. Until then I will leave it in your hands."

Unohana had never left her in this position before, but she was sure that her Vice-Captain could handle it.

When Isane nodded Captain Unohana moved away from her. She knew that it would take all of her reiatsu to accomplish the results she desired, and didn't want it to effect any of the shinigami currently in battle or her Vice-Captain.

Unleashing her reiatsu she began the very advanced kido she hoped would end this battle for good. She put everything she had into it and was just a little surprised at the shocked expressions on their enemies faces the instant they realized they couldn't move. However that was all she got to see because at that exact moment she felt her body drain of reiatsu and hoped as her vision went black that it had been enough.

At ten fifty-eight Unohana came to the realization that their was a very good reason that she hadn't continued to train with that Kido. She was laying on her bed, but her body felt like someone had beaten her with a very large club. She knew that it was just the strain she had put on her body when she released all of her reiatsu, but that didn't make her feel much better. She had to find out what had happened. She had only slept nine hours instead of the twelve she had anticipated, but she couldn't stay in her room. She had a job to do, or at least she assumed they had won. She didn't think she would be in her quarters if they hadn't.

Slowly she got out of bed and made her way across the room to the adjoining office. She saw a tired and beleaguered Isane sitting at the desk and sipping some tea. Unohana listened intently as Isane made her report. Her Kido had worked better than expected. Head Captain Ukitake was making a full recovery, and all the enemies had been destroyed.

She informed Isane that she would go check on Ukitake and the others that had been injured in the battle and made her way to his customary room as Isane went to make preparations for the wounded that would come back from the fake Karakura Town.

Captain Unohana paused in front of the door to Ukitake's room. She had felt sure that she needed to tell him the truth of her feelings when they had all been amid the battle and she still felt the same way, but a small part of her still feared his reaction. As a healer and a Shinigami she had never been one to let her fear and anxiety get the better of her and she wouldn't now. She took a deep breath and knocked quietly. She opened the door and walked in with all the confidence she usually showed him, but their were butterflies in her stomach.

She walked over to his bed, and he allowed her to check his vitals and level of reiatsu without a word. When she discovered that they were better than expected, she nodded to him as was customary. Unohana was surprised at is continued silence, and asked him if he was feeling better. However, the response the healer received was not what she had been expecting.

"Of course I am feeling better. You have just shown me that you didn't kill yourself out there today."

Not at all sure what had made him be so short with her she replied, "Head Captain Ukitake I was in full control of my Kido and Isane has told me that it did help in the battle. All I needed was some rest. I know that it is customary for Squad Four to stand clear of the fighting and not interfere. I will not apologize for doing what I deemed necessary, but I will take complete responsibility for my actions."

Ukitake moved to sit himself up on his bed and Unohana placed the extra pillows under him so he could sit upright, all the time wondering if she had offended him.

It looked as if Ukitake was contemplating what she has said, so the room remained silent for a long moment. Finally he sighed and looked her strait in the eyes.

She could now see that their had been unshed tears in them. Hearing him sigh and fearing the worst she seated herself in the chair next to his bed and waited. Finally he spoke, "I am not angry at you Unohana-san. I was worried for you. That was a very advanced Kido and as we both know it has taken it's toll on you. You didn't have to do it. I just don't understand why you did when you have never done so before."

Knowing that now was the time to tell him she took a second to compose herself and then answered, "Ukitake-san, I couldn't bare the thought that you could die on that battlefield without ever knowing how I truly felt about you. You know that as a patient and friend I care for you a great deal. Unohana paused as she watched him smile slightly and nod as if this fact made him happy, and then she continued when he made no move to stop her, "But what you don't know is that my feelings for you go beyond platonic. There is no loss that I would feel more severely than yours. It is as if every time you feel pain I feel it also. Just to see you takes my breath. I have come to love you Ukitake-san."

Unohana could see surprise clearly in his eyes and realized that she had always successfully hid her feelings. She glanced down to see that sometime during her confession she had placed her hand on his closest arm. As they sat in silence she realized that he must not share her feelings and moved to take her hand away from his arm. However, before she could he placed his hand on hers and successfully kept her from reclaiming her hand. This caused her to look into his face and she realized that their was a burning warmth in his eyes.

Before she could fully understand what was happening he pulled her down and placed his lips on hers. She felt the warmth of his breath and the sensation of his soft lips meeting hers made her gasp. He must have taken it as a sign of assent because his tongue entered her and tangled with her own in a dance older than time itself. She had never felt anything like it and couldn't imagine feeling anything better. She tangled her free hand in his snow white hair and lost herself in the man she loved. No matter what happened it couldn't touch her here.

At eleven fifteen she wanted to crawl into bed beside him but couldn't. They both had to make preparations. He from his hospital bed and she in her office. Evil didn't stop for love, but love could definitely kick it's ass. She left his room with the promise that she would return in a few hours. He kissed her once again before he would let her leave.

It had been exactly one week since her world exploded, turned over, and then righted itself again. She still found it hard to believe that they had won the war. But nothing compared to the fact that Ukitake had felt the same about her that she had for him. It baffled her sometimes that they had suffered loneliness in silence for so many years.

Captain Unohana had given her Squad the night off as all the injured had left Squad Four. They had an empty ward and they deserved the rest. She sat her teacup down and signed the final report of the day, just in time to hear a knock on her door. She knew the reiatsu behind it and a smile lit her face as she said, "Enter."

She watched as Juushirou opened the door and asked, "Retsu are you ready?"

"Yes, I just finished my final report for the day."

She stood and took his hand as they both walked out the door and into the rest of their lives.

* * *

Author's Note: If anyone is wondering why Ukitake is Head Captain it's because I can't stand Yamamoto and I really think that Ukitake would make a great Head Captain. I hope you all enjoyed it and if it isn't exactly what you expected I completely understand as it's not what I expected either. Please read and review.


End file.
